Dreamer: Tyler Youngers
Business: N'west Iowa Ag Innovations
Location:
Sheldon, IA
Industry Contest: Pre-Revenue
Voting Ends: March 1, 2015 11:59 PM
Pre-Revenue Current Rank
17
Iowa's West Coast Regional Contest Current Rank
13
Growing up in Northwest Iowa on the family farm gave me many opportunities to work side-by-side with the operation. As I worked on the family farm, I would always think of ways to help improve the farm. I would think of ways to make the farm more efficient, add more value, or simply make the farm more organized. Through these experiences and through my current profession the concept of N'west Iowa Ag Innovations was conceived.
N'west Iowa Ag Innovations will provide innovative solutions to complex agricultural problems. I will add value to farm operations by eliminating inefficiencies and supporting ongoing, purposeful integration of agtech tools, meanwhile strengthening the most important piece, the farmer.
A few examples of what N'west Iowa Ag Innovations can do for your operation include data collection and analysis, adoption of precision agriculture technologies, UAV scouting, and use of innovative technologies to promote efficiency on the farm.
Business Description:
My business is unique because it provides a service that strengthens the most important piece of the agriculture industry, the farmer. The ingenuity of humans is what has helped our great state and great nation prosper in the agricultural field. This ingenuity must be strengthened if farmers hope to overcome the complex challenges of a growing and advanced, technological society. My business will support the needs of farmers and will add value to their operations.
I will support farmers through this agribusiness by following a technology integration cycle that I use at my job as an instructional technology consultant for teachers. This cycle supports meaningful integration of technology.
The agtech integration cycle can be found under the pictures attached to this application.
We will charge a nominal fee for this service and will offer ongoing support for farmers as their operations become more advanced and technology-rich. As more farmers adopt technology into their operations, the need for support and focus on innovative usage grows and that will provide an excellent opportunity to help them achieve their goals through my business.
Short-term goals:
- Clearly articulate and market the vision of N’west Iowa Ag Innovations
- Build a solid customer base
- Provide quality support to farmers through my professionalism and dedication to using innovative practices
- Grow steadily as a business and continue to share our business model that promotes efficiency and effective use of agtech tools.
Long-term goals:
- Build an innovation space that will support our growth
- Hire additional staff members to support technology integration, ongoing support, and future innovation
- Create a learning lab to welcome young learners into our business, after hours, to learn about agtech and to engage with tech tools that support creativity and critical thinking
- Develop and unveil an innovative agtech tool that will further support farmers’ efficiency and success. This agtech tool development will create more jobs at N’west Iowa Ag Innovations and support further population growth in the region
Reason for Entering:
I am applying because we are at a crossroads in the agriculture industry - commodity prices are falling, land prices are high, and farmers are faced with tough decisions in order to make a profit. My passion is helping others and I want to help farmers. I want to help add value to their farm operations through more purposeful use of technology, improved efficiency, and an ongoing support system that continues to make farming more profitable.
I would use the money to support further research and development of my business plan. I would also use the money to create and send out marketing materials, build and host a website, and invest in the purchase of agtech products for my professional development.